Careful what you wish for, 'cuz you might just get it
by Goldenvine128
Summary: Nel and Nnoitra meet for a final time. The line he wasn't supposed to cross is about three miles in the other direction.


A pink cloud exploded into the air, though its appearance was an afterthought compared to the massive reiatsu that was now blanketing the area. Tesla gripped Orihime tighter, and Nnoitra readied his blade. However, Ichigo was simply sitting there, looking very confused by this, as if the sky had momentarily decided to switch colors and everyone around him acted like they had been expecting it. Which they may very well have, considering the smug comments.

"Finally decided that I'm worth your time, huh Nelliel?" he crooned.

"Well I got news for you, ya high-n'-mighty bitch! The espadas have gotten stronger, and that 3 on your back don't mean shit anymore. So if you think you can just waltz in here and- _hurk_ ,"

The rest of his posturing was abruptly cut off by a grunt and a wheeze of air as Nel's fist collided with his gut. However, the bragging about his hierro had not been for nothing, and he still managed to swing Santa Teresa at her with more force than one might expect from someone who looked like four toothpicks taped onto a spoon.

She leaped back from his strike, landing right next to the bruised teenager laying on the sand.

"Ichigo, are you alright?" her childlike lisp was gone, replaced by a voice that sounded much more adult-like but no less caring.

" 'S fine. I've seen worse."

He struggled to get into a sitting position, spitting out what might be a concerning amount of blood to any ordinary human. However, Nel was neither of those and pulled Ichigo into a bone-crushing hug in face of his weak smile.

They were interrupted by a wide swing of Nnoitra's crescent shaped blade, forcing the two to separate and duck.

"If you think I'm just going to let you two weaklings stand there, you've got another thing coming!" he screamed.

Ragged strikes came down on her like rain; left, right, center, top. Nel maneuvered the fight away from Ichigo and Orihime , clear and focused in the face of the quinta's desperate fury. He aimed for her neck, and Nelliel finally took the initiative, blocking the blow and stepping into his guard with one fluid movement. She turned and slammed her heel into his chest. The real fight had begun.

Nnoitra stumbled backwards and instinctively brought the staff part of his blade up to deflect the sharp downward strike from gamuza. He spun his staff in front of him like a shield as Nelliel closed in, bringing his arm back and then snapping it forward in a brutal attack on her midriff. She was forced to step back, and he pressed his advantage with a flurry of stabs and slashes. Nell parried and dodged, but on one he stepped further than expected and clipped her in to stomach. She let out a hiss of pain and pressed her arm to the wound in an attempt to staunch the blood.

 _Damn,_ she thought, _I can't hold out much longer than this!_

She roared and willed herself to strike harder, faster. Now was not the time to get rusty. Nnoitra had shifted his blade to one hand and was using the other to send a reiatsu-enhanced punch at Nelliel's throat. She stepped around it, grabbed his arm, and yanked as hard as she could. He toppled forward onto the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Nel wasted no time in switching her grip and slamming the point of her sword into the back of his knee. Through muscle and tendon and bone, Nnoitra's body tensed in shock. She drove her blade in deeper and twisted it, effectively pinning him to the ground and making that leg nigh unusable. He screamed in agony, and, through some feat of insanity, hurled his blade at her.

A hoarse cry pierced the air, "Pray, Santa Teresa!"

A golden light suffused him as his body changed, channelling his inner mantis by sprouting four more arms, each of which held a zanpakuto. _Shit._

Nelliel had taken a step back and did the same, releasing her blade with a calm word.

"Declare, Gamuza."

Fatigue evaporated from their eyes and the multitude of small cuts, bruises, and scrapes were ignored as they pushed themselves to move, to keep fighting. Nel struggled to dodge and block all six blades, as four hooves and a horse's stature did not make for very agile close-quarters melee. But then again, Nnoitra was having trouble too. His leg slowed him down considerably, and each step he took was lurching and unbalanced. His already growing frustration spiked and he launched a huge cero at her.

Nelliel simply stood her ground with parted jaws, swallowing the beam of energy as she would any soul.

"Fuck. Guess I forgot you could do that."

She gathered the combined power of his cero and her own, aiming at Nnoitra with the intent to kill. The cero doble was so bright that it momentarily blinded all observers, but Nell trusted only her instincts to guide her forward as she lowered her head and charged.

Her hooves flew like the breeze over plains but her horns struck true with the force of a hurricane.

Nnoitra lammed backwards into a rock, cracking his skull and then laying dazed. The world was calm in that moment, no stir in the sand nor noise in the air save two sets of ragged breath. Breathe in, and out. Breathe in, and out. Breathe in… Nelliel moved her arm with lightning speed. Gamuza pierced his chest, and Nel gave only a long, steel eyed glance at the man-no-beast who was once Nnoitra Gilga before turning away.


End file.
